John victoe howey



Jan. 18,1927. J. v. Howl-:Y

PENCIL Filed July 9I 1925 Patented Jan. 18, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

A JOHN VICTOR HOWEY, 0F MNSON, ALBERTA, CANADA.

PENCIL.

Application filed July 9, 1926, Serial No. 121,414, and in CanadaJanuary 28, 1925.

This invention relates to improvements in pencils appertainingparticularly to that class of device having a barrel for containing asupply of leads.

An object is to provide such a device wherein a lead may be returned toits container, a new lead may be brought into use without handling, or alead in use may be changed for one retained in supply.

A further object is to provide a device of this character havingcapacity for a number of marking elements of several colors or leads ofvarious degrees of hardness.

A further object is to provide a pencil comprising a cylindrical body, arotatable insert and a plunger held against rotation adapted to movelongitudinally on the rotation of said insert.

A still further object is the provision of such a device wherein vtheparts are few, the construction simple and being capable of manufactureat a reasonable cost is thus rendered commercially desirable.

In the drawings, forming a part of this disclosure.

Fig. 1 is a plan of the pencil;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section;

Figs. 3 and 4 are transverse sections as on lines 3-3 and -lf-trespectively of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a detail elevation of the eraser applied to the top of thepencil.

In general the device approximates the conventional barrel type pencilbut in detail includes novel features of construction providing forimproved functions and increased uses and necessitating a change in theconcealed operation. Comprising a cylindrical body within which bothpoint and top ends are rotatable and frictionally retained, the pencilincludes a fourth principal member in the form of a plunger with wingsrunning in guides in the point end insert and held against rotationthereby and with an enlarged top threaded in the top insert is movablelongitudinally in the barrel by the rotation osaid top.

Referring particularly to the drawings, wherein like charactersdesignate like parte throughout the several views, the numeral 6designates the barrel like body having outwardly directed grooves ortroughs 7 extending on the inner periphery .from the point end 8 to froma third to a half way up the barrel.

alined with the former uppermost.

A point end insert 9 is telescopically received by said barrel andfrictionally though rotatably held therein. The exposed end 10 of thisinsert is enlarged, at the margin 11 abutting the barrel to thecircumference thereof but tapers to present a contour approxii'natingthe conventional pencil and the received stock 12 extends past the endof the grooves 7 for a purpose to be described later. il centralperforation 13 extends longitudinaily from the point of the tapered end10, where the diameter is reduced as at 11, to the remote end of thestock and a slot le; the full length of the stock is also provided. Thisslot provides communication for the perforation 13 with the exterior ofthe stoel; through the length thereof and leads or other markers 15contained within the lead retaining grooves 7 may fall into the saidperforation when the slot is brought into registry with ay leadcontaining and the pencil, held horizontally, is rotated till thegroove, slot and perforation are vertically The perforation is alsoprovided with a pair of diametrically opposite guide grooves 16 from themargin l1 to the end of the stock, the purpose of which will be laterset forth.

The top end insert 1'? is very similar to the point member 9 comprisinga head 18 and a stock 19 the latter being of greater diameter than thestem l2 with which it abuts as it has no function in co-operation withthe barrel except to be frictionally and `rotatably retained thereby.This stock 19 is hollow and interior-ly threaded to receive the enlargedand threaded head 20 of the plunger 21, the long slender' stem 22 ofwhich has near remote end a pair of diainetrically opposite wings 23that slide in the guides 16 of the stoclr 12. Thus it will be seen, thatif the point end 9 is held against rotation and the top end insert 17 isturned the plunger whose rotation is restricted by the wings in guides16, will move longitudinelly;

lil/'hen the plunger is retracted to the inner end of its threadedhousing, the wings 23 will have reached the end of the guide grooves andbe contacting with the abutting end of the stoclr 19; and further thatpart of the plunger stein 22, exterior of the wings will all becontained within that portion of the .stock 12 that extends inwardlypast the lead supply grooves 7, as aforesaid. Thus it will be apparentthat no obstacle is presented to the entry of a new lead or marliinfrelement.

n the head 2O an erasing element 24 is provided and mounted therebetween a pair of opposed standards 25 from the said head. The eraser isthere retained by a transverse pin 26 passing through the eraser andstandards. The whole is suitably enclosed by a container cap 27screwedto the reduced threaded end 28 of the head 20.

ln operation, the lead chamber or grooves 7 are filled and the deviceassembled; this is accomplished by reinserting the stock 12 in thebarrel; the point and lead inserts are rotated with relation to eachther till the wings 23 of the plunger stem locate their seats or guides16; then, with the pencil horizontal and the perforation slot lllextending downward from the axial perforation (this may be ascertainedby the position of an arrow or other convention mark disposed on theexposed tapered end l0, that is in radial alignment with the said slot),the point insert is held while the barrel is rotated until the groovecontaining the desired lead or marker registers with the slot when thewhole pencil is rotated to bring the aligned groove, slot and axialperforation into vertical position with the former uppermost so the leador other marker will fall into the perforation and then holding thepoint end against rotation, the head end is screwed to force the leadthrough the point and present it for use.

' To eXcha'ngea lead or marker in use for one in supply, the plunger isretracted and the lead pressed back past the reduced and biting point ldand returned to its chamber or groove by the reverse of the foregoingfilling operation and the selected lmarker can then he brought into useas ments of my invention constructed within the scopev of the appendedclaims without departing from the spirit or scope thereof,

it is intended that all matters contained in the said accompanyingspecification and drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and notin a limited sense.

llhat l claim as new is:

l. ln a pencil, a tubular body having a bore extending axially from endto end thereof, said bore having a shoulder intermediate its ends, theupper end of the bore being of larger diameter than the lower end, arotatable internally threaded sleeve litting in the upper end of theboreand bearing at its end against said shoulder, a head on said sleeve forrotating the same, a second sleeve removably and frictionally fitting inthe lower end of said bore and having its lower end projecting from thebore and forming a shouldered point end with the shoulder bearingagainst the body end, said second sleeve having a slot extendinglongitudinally thereof, a plunger having its upper end enlarged andthreaded to engage in the first sleeve and .its lower end extending'into the second sleeve, and a wingon said plunger engaging in saidslot. l

2. ln a pencil, a tubular body having a bore extending axially from endto end thereof, said bore having a shoulder intermediate its ends, theupper end of the bore being of larger Y diameter than the lower end, arotatable internally threaded sleeve fitting inthe upper end of the boreand. bearing at its end against said shoulder, a head on said sleeve forrotating the same, a second sleeve rey movably and frictionallyfittingin-the lower end of said bore and having its lower end projectingfrom the bore and forming a shouldered point end with the shoulderbearing against the body end, said second` sleeve having a slotextending longitudinally thereof, a plunger having its upper endenlarged and threaded to engage in the first sleeve and its lower endextending into the second sleeve, and a wing on said plunger engaging insaid slot in the saidwall ofthe lower end of the bore, said slotsforminglead holding recesses and the material between the slots forming ribsengaging and supporting the second sleeve axially of the body.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

JOHN VICTORv HOWEY.

